The new amendments to the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that took effect on June 22, 2016, clarify that through a three-stage process: prioritization, risk evaluation, and risk management, To ensure the safety of existing chemical substances and to ensure that assessment or management is carried out within the scope of practical feasibility. In order to support the EU's circular economy policy, the CEO of ECHA, the competent authority of REACH, stated that it is necessary to find a management balance between valuable materials, recycled materials and hazardous substances that need to be eliminated, and decide whether to specifically manage recycling through new regulations. Substances, the current approach of existing regulatory tools is to prioritize restricting hazardous chemicals from entering the raw material cycle. The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) recommends that existing regulations should effectively and consistently prioritize encouraging safe substitutions. These include: ˙ Prioritization: According to the final rule (final rule) signed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 22 this year (2017) and announced on July 20, it took effect on September 18, establishing a risk-based A baseline screening process to designate the priority of chemical substances for risk assessment, considering factors including the potential hazard and exposure of chemical substances (including persistence, bioaccumulation, exposure to potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations, storage in important (near drinking water resources, etc.), operating conditions (conditions of use) and operating volume (manufacturing, processing), etc. ˙ Risk assessment: The final rules on risk assessment will also take effect on September 18 this year simultaneously with the prioritization rules. High-priority substances that have been prioritized will enter the risk assessment stage. At this stage, TSCA requires EPA to determine whether the substance poses unreasonable risks to health or the environment under defined use scenarios, and will also consider subgroups that may be at higher risk than the general public, such as young children or workers. ˙Risk management: Once the US Environmental Protection Agency determines that a chemical poses unreasonable risks, the US Environmental Protection Agency must publish risk management regulations, including chemical labeling, industry notification obligations, and even prohibitions and restrictions. When the Environmental Protection Agency evaluates risk management measures, it considers factors including: human health and environmental impact, the benefits of regulatory measures and the impact on the economy (including the country as a whole, small businesses and technological innovation, etc.). When considering the costs and benefits of regulations, the actual costs and benefits must also be considered. The current situation is included. The above three-stage process schedules are intertwined to form an overall structure. Currently, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced the first 10 substances for risk assessment on December 19, 2016, including asbestos and N-methylpyrrolidone. (NMP), 1,4-dioxanone, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), etc., a three-year risk assessment was officially launched. Within the first 6 months, the risk assessment scope of each substance will be divided, and the potential for hazards and exposure in the conditions of use (conditions of use) will be included, including persistence, bioaccumulation, and risks to potentially exposed or susceptible groups. Exposure, storage near important drinking water resources, etc. Data source: International Chemical Policy Promotion Network (2017-11-06)
